Social media may improve mental health

KARACHI: Contrary to popular belief, using social media and the internet regularly could help improve mental health among adults and fend off serious psychological distress, such as depression and anxiety, a study revealed.

According to researchers from Michigan State University in the US, communication technologies and social media platforms make it easier to maintain relationships and access health information. Until now, adults have not been the focus of much research concerning the mental health impacts of social media use, said Keith Hampton, a professor at Michigan State University.

Most studies on social media have focused on youth and college students, and the effects could be explained by life stages, rather than technology use.

“Taking a snapshot of the anxiety felt by young people today and concluding that a whole generation is at risk because of social media ignores more noteworthy social changes, such as the lingering effects of the Great Recession, the rise in single-child families, older and more protective parents, more kids going to college and rising student debt,” said Hampton.

Researchers set out to study more mature populations, analyzing data from more than 13000 relationships from adult participants. Using 2015 and 2016 data, the team found social media users are 63% less likely to experience severe psychological distress from one year to the next, including major depression or serious anxiety. Having extended family members on social media further reduced psychological distress, so long as their family member's mental health was not in decline.

The study, published in the Journal of Computer Mediated-Communication, challenges the notion that social media, mobile technologies, and the internet contribute to a mental health crisis.

The researchers found that someone who uses a social networking site is 1.63 times more likely to avoid serious psychological distress.

The extent to which communication technologies affect psychological distress varies according to the type and amount of technologies people and their extended family members use.

Changes to the mental health of family members affect the psychological distress experienced by other families, but only if both family members are connected on a social networking site.

“Today, we have these ongoing, little bits of information popping up on our cell phones and Facebook feeds, and that ongoing contact might matter for things like mental health,” Hampton said.